Search & replace: capture wildcard groups and set a bold formatting

alex100 · #1 02-24-2023, 06:13 AM

I would like to replace some keywords using wildcards, while also capturing the wildcard group and applying bold formatting to the matches. I have two codes so far, but neither one accomplishes both requirements.

The first code captures the group but does not set the bold formatting:

Code:

With Selection.Find
    .Text = "(wildcard_pattern_here)"
    .Replacement.Text = "original text: \1"
    .Replacement.Font.Bold = True
    .Forward = True
    .Wrap = wdFindContinue
    .Format = False
    .MatchCase = True
    .MatchWholeWord = False
    .MatchWildcards = True
    .MatchSoundsLike = False
    .MatchAllWordForms = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute replace:=wdReplaceAll

The second code does the exact opposite - applies the bold formatting but does not insert captured groups in the replacement text:

Code:

With Selection.Find
    .Text = "(wildcard_pattern_here)"
    .Replacement.Text = "original text: \1"
    .Forward = True
    .Wrap = wdFindContinue
    .Format = False
    .MatchCase = True
    .MatchWholeWord = False
    .MatchWildcards = True
    .MatchSoundsLike = False
    .MatchAllWordForms = False
    Do While .Execute
        Selection.Font.Bold = True
        Selection.TypeText Text:=.Replacement.Text
    Loop
End With

How can I achieve both requirments at the same time, please?

Thank you!

Alex

gmayor · #2 02-24-2023, 06:58 AM

Code:

With Selection.Find
    .Text = "((wildcard_pattern_here)"
    .Replacement.Text = "original text: \1"
    .Replacement.Font.Bold = True
    .Forward = True
    .Wrap = wdFindContinue
    .Format = True
    .MatchCase = True
    .MatchWholeWord = False
    .MatchWildcards = True
    .MatchSoundsLike = False
    .MatchAllWordForms = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll

alex100 · #3 02-24-2023, 08:45 AM

All right, so the '.Format' setting was the one preventing the style change.

Thank you, it works great now!

Alex

alex100 · #4 02-24-2023, 09:21 AM

I would not want to open another thread just for this, so I have one more related question if you do not mind...

This RegEx matches one to ten uppercase words, divided by a space character and ending with a colon and space.

Code:

.Text = "([A-Z]@ ){1,10}[A-Z]@: "
.Replacement.Text = "> \1"

It works good as it is listed above, but when I try to enclose it between two parentheses (to capture the group), I get a 'not valid pattern expression' error. The code is this:

Code:

.Text = "(([A-Z]@ ){1,10}[A-Z]@: )"
.Replacement.Text = "> \1"

How should I write the wildcard pattern, please?

Alex

alex100 · #5 02-24-2023, 01:55 PM

Ok, problem solved, I changed the pattern with the one below and it works good now.

Code:

.Text = vbCr & "([A-Z ]{1,50}): "
.Replacement.Text = "> \1"

Alex

gmayor · #6 02-24-2023, 09:39 PM

See Replace using wildcards

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